When Should I Book My Flight?

While planning for a trip, it can be challenging to decide the right time to book whenever you want to fly. How can you ensure that you always get the best fare while at the same time knowing that the price of the same fare can change at any one time? Learning about all the various prime booking windows for all kinds of trips might help to reduce the element of uncertainty for travelers. Here are some tips that you can implement to get the right information on the best time to book domestic flights, followed by international flights, holiday travel, and so on.

Timing of domestic flights booking About 70% of domestic airlines give out flight timetable 330 days before the travel date. Fares will generally be slightly higher in the initial stages but do not wait for too long to avail domestic flights. For business travel, try to book your tickets two to three months prior to the period of travel, especially if it will be during the summer or during the holidays. Regular travelers observing routes and fares may discover fairly affordable tickets in the four- to eight-week-out range.

If you are going somewhere that people fly to with consistent frequency, you should be able to get a reasonable price one to three weeks prior to the time of your trip. Since the working week is more flexible, midweek flights and off-peak days also cost less than Friday and Sunday flights. Follow the prices to get alerts from Google Flights, Kayak, Hopper, or airline of your preference. As stressed in the previous point, keeping up with the sales will enable one to capitalize on any opportunity that presents itself.

International Airline Flights: When to Book International flights fluctuate more than domestic; therefore, the main booking period depends on the type of flight. When buying tickets, remember that, as a general rule, the cheapest international flights should be bought three to eight months before your intended travel period. The long-haul flights to Europe, Asia, or Oceania are going to be on the higher side, and those travelling to Mexico, Central America or the Caribbean can book the flights nearer to their dates of travel.

The first, which is still a significant factor, relates to the differentiation between seasons, particularly peak and off peak. The great chance of getting tickets at cheaper and more convenient times is during off-peak season: February, March, April, May, October, and November, especially if you travel during weekdays, Avoid going during summer, Christmas holidays, school holidays, or events. If your time of visit is not very fixed, then try to visit the hotel during the off-season or the shoulder seasons when the rates will be lower. For Europe, therefore, late spring and early autumn are ideal because the weather is good with little crowd influx during summer. In mid-January through to March, there is usually low traffic and cheap hotel rates in most popular tourist resorts that are known for their warm climate.

No matter the destination, having flexibility over when to leave will open up more possibilities. This is especially true for most of the low-cost airlines, such as Norwegian Air and WOW Air, which make available their international prices that are as low as six months or even more but only for off-peak days. They also give you priority when it comes to their online deals if you subscribe to their email alerts.

Timing: For many people, the timing of booking holiday travel comes down to a few elements: For instance, with the holiday season from Thanksgiving down to New Year, flights are fully booked, especially when they are booked way ahead of time. If you are planning to attend a family gathering during the holiday season or vacation during winter, make sure to book your flights latest Halloween. The best time to book Thanksgiving trip is on Labor Day, as this is the trend seen from the historical airfares.

There are other foreign holidays, such as Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Labor Day, for which booking windows are open four to eight weeks earlier. Another form of saving time and money is going to the desired destination a few days before the actual celebration of the holiday or after. Avoid sticking to the short weekends, as you can always extend the weekend to five or six days and still spend less.

As mentioned earlier, flight bookings for a wedding should be made well in advance and at least three months before the scheduled wedding date. Traveling in a group, particularly to cater for weddings or large functions, comes with its own drawbacks. This is because the out-of-town guests must book their flights and hotels at least six to twelve months to the wedding date. This means that the longer you have waited, the more the prices of travel increase, often at a very steep rate.

In the case of a wedding, when planning the wedding date, it is important to consult the intended invitees on the dates being considered. This allows them to present any significant clashes on their schedule and agenda. From here, the save the date cards should be sent one year before the wedding for those that are held in a different country or state, and for a wedding that is regional, they should be sent 9–11 months before the event.

Seeing that save the dates have been sent out far in advance, your special guests shall be able to book in the most opportune time. Let the invitees be the ones who search for flights and accommodation on their own. This causes a reduced flight availability near the wedding date along with a higher price.

As mentioned above, there are always certain tricks that can be used to book cheap flights, and these include the following: However, by focusing on some of the guidelines though booking windows, it is possible to reduce flight costs even further.

Peak days flying Bookings during Friday and Sunday are relatively expensive compared to Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday bookings.

Book early or late flights If possible, choose flights that will depart before 8:00 AM or those that have later, evening departures. The largest number of bookings is usually recorded at this time, as many people look for a means of transport during their lunch or dinner time.

Book well in advance of your trip As it has been observed, the cheapest fares may come with limitations such as the maximum number of days to be spent in the destination or the days of the week to travel, etc. The most effective way to reduce the cost is through preferred promotional fares, which, if one has the time to schedule trips around, are much cheaper.

Look at other metro areas Expanding the search criteria to include all the airports present in a metro area helps in finding more options. This is because if you spend more time on the road either in a car or in a train, then you may be able to find a cheaper flight.

Take advantage of airline newsletters Subscribing to newsletter services from the airlines allows you to receive the first notifications of fare sales, special offers, and seasonal promotions.

Another way to help reduce the overall ticket cost is by booking in advance, at least a week before your intended travel, enrolling in loyalty programs airline credit cards, and utilizing metasearch sites that compare fares from different airlines. This also helps cut down on demand, particularly when planning to travel during festive seasons, school openings or closings, and other events that could mean high costs for flights.

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